Escape the Ordinary - Week 1

[New Providence]

Well, here we go embarking on another prize-winning season. While I have some great questions planned, I couldn't resist starting off with this opinion poll that has come up in all of my recent chats about favorite books with patrons.

What started me thinking about this was the fabulous The Boys in the Boat. Read it if you have not or put it on your list to read. What a story! Anyway, my question concerns the only criticism I have of the book - the pictures are interspersed in the text. I ended up putting a book mark on the page with the team's picture b/c whenever discussion of individuals came up, of course I wanted to look at them. Especially since there were great physical descriptions of each fellow.

I've just noticed that in the paperback version of The Shoemaker's Wife, all the pictures are at the end of the book. The pictures are printed on the same type paper so they don't stand out and there is still a need to bookmark the section. This is a little bit better b/c you can bookmark the section and flip through to find the image you are looking for more easily than flipping through an entire book.

But nothing beats the middle-of-the-book-glossy-paper-picture-section in my opinion. It's the first thing I look at before I start the text and I just keep flipping through as I'm reading. It provides some clues about where the story is going and perhaps that's comforting - a way of knowing how the story comes out without reading the ending. And it is also a gauge of how accurate the author is in describing things.

So, how do you feel about pictures included with a book? Do you prefer the pictures in the middle of the book or do you like them to be there as they're discussed? Do you flip through the picture section first or do you wait? Perhaps pictures are not that important at all or perhaps they interfere with your vision of the story and the characters?

[Phyllis Conrad]

Ok, I prefer the pictures in the middle, glossy-color photos. I do peruse that section first and read all the captions. I don't mind flipping back to them while reading.

[K]

Interesting question. Especially since I'm pretty much reading mostly ebooks these days (and bookmarks/flipping back and forth are not the easiest to use). I hate to admit it, but back when I read Ken Follett's "On Wings of Eagles", the only thing that cued me in that it was a true story were the pictures in the middle (I picked it up because I liked the author, and saw there was a new book out). Don't know that pix in middle or end would've made much difference - I just loved the story.

[Marilyn]

Offhand I don't recall any book I've read that had pictures at the end and I'm not sure if I'd like that, especially if there was no indication that they were there. I do like the glossy pictures somewhere in the book but don't think it would matter to me as long as I knew they were there.

I also like maps in the front as well as a family tree if the story is multi-generational.

Years ago I read "The Stone Diaries" by Carol Shields and, if memory serves correctly, it had pictures in it, either in middle or throughout. Amusing thing - during a discussion some of the members thought it was a biography. It is a novel! The pictures convinced some of the readers that it was true.

[Judy]

I don't have a preference for where pictures are located, but I do prefer glossy photos and captions near the photo rather than off to the side. I do like the " family trees" at the beginning of a book to help keep the characters in the right era.

[Dawn]

I love looking at the pictures and immediately look at them first so it's much easier if they're in the middle. But I've also read books where the pictures are interspersed with the text and then it's always a surprise when I encounter them. So I guess I'm sort of neutral.

[Karen]

I'm reading Sally Mann's Hold Still right now, and she has photographs interspersed throughout the book. They always illustrate what she's speaking about at the moment, and I'm really liking it. What I really like about her book is she's including photographs that didn't work for her, so it's nice to see how even the best photographers have duds in their work.

I do enjoy middle glossy photographs and look at them first before the book starts. I think end of the book photographs would bother me a bit.

Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs

[Marilyn]

If there are no photographs, I sometimes find myself going online to look up places I'm reading about. For example, couple of months ago I read "Burial Rites" by Hannah Kent, a novel that takes place in Northern Iceland based on a real event in 1830, and I found some great pictures online which brought the book alive for me.

[New Providence]

Interesting...as I was writing out this question it did occur to me that it probably only applies to non-fiction books but then again, perhaps somebody out there knows of an example of a fiction book with important pictures interspersed. I'm thinking of Lord of the Rings where more maps would have been appreciated! Or an elf family tree?

Also, on the electronic version, I'm always reminded of my experience with reading The Book Thief on a Kindle where I didn't realize that the "handwritten book" pages were supposed to look that...I thought the device had malfunctioned until I checked it against the print version in the library!

[New Providence]

Marilyn wrote: "Offhand I don't recall any book I've read that had pictures at the end and I'm not sure if I'd like that, especially if there was no indication that they were there. I do like the glossy pictures ..."

I knew that somebody in this group would come up w/ an example of a fiction book w/ pictures. And how interesting that people thought it was non-fiction because of the pictures..

[K]

Well, if we're talking maps and family trees, from my experience with the "Game of Thrones" series of books - in the front, please. But, as reference guides they're almost next to useless in ebooks.

[Sangeeta]

i prefer the pics in the middle of the book for easier searching, and find myself flipping to them often (even to the same ones again and again) to make the characters come alive. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Yes Chef, and A Primate's Memoir are recent (NF) books with pictures. The Orphan Train (fiction) had poignant photos at the end of the book of actual children sent to the west.

(the ebooks i've looked at have all the pictures at the end.)

Marilyn, at the Berkeley Heights book club meeting discussing Burial Rites, the moderator showed me pictures referencing Iceland now and then... wow !the pictures of "baðstofas" (typical farming homes) and turf huts and the Icelandic coast made the story resonate even more. i think she put them on the library's pintrest page. it's being made into a move with Jennifer Lawrence, i've heard.

[Helene]

I also read books mostly on my e-reader and the pictures are often at the end of the book which makes that I usually don't know they are there until I finish the book. When I do see them it works for me as a recap of the story.

[Marilyn]

Sangeeta wrote: "i prefer the pics in the middle of the book for easier searching, and find myself flipping to them often (even to the same ones again and again) to make the characters come alive. The Immortal Li..."

Sangeeta: I am familiar with the pictures - I emailed some of them to Anne.